Umbrella
by Makayla
Summary: The freezing running back reluctantly reopened his eyes and he gaped in astonishment as he registered the sight of Shin suddenly stripping in the middle of a rainstorm. ShinxSena -Complete!-
1. 1st Down

A/N: Maka-chan has started a multi-chaptered story Oo This is a very rare occasion and should be stared at and poked (with caution). I don't even know where it came from, I'm just obsessed with these two randomly meeting on the streets of Tokyo at night, clearly... Anyway, I need to know whether I should continue or just give up and retreat back to Drabble Corner, so please leave a review at the end of your visit ^^

Disclaimer: Ah if only I didn't have to write this... Eyeshield 21 does not belong to Makayla, nor shall it ever and thank God for that.

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Chapter 1

Sena shifted the bag in his hand and glared up at the sky as two big drops of water splattered onto his left cheek. His body was aching from the day's gruelling training and he'd forgotten to bring an umbrella.

The heavens opened mercilessly and Sena ducked beneath the shallow doorway of the nearest shop and sighed as the rain fell so hard it obscured the quiet night street. Occasionally a car would zoom past, its speeding tires sending sheets of water flying up onto the path.

It had been raining all day and Sena should have known better than to risk the outside without an umbrella, but really all he had been thinking of was how he'd be able to collapse on his bed as soon as he'd gotten to the shop and back; now it seemed he would have to wait a little longer for that privilege.

Sena looked down the street idly as he waited (hoped) for the rain to end. In the distance he could make out a figure, broad and hulking as it trudged determinedly through the downpour. Sena winced in sympathy as he (with those shoulders the figure had to be a man) jogged closer. The man's sweatshirt was soaked through and Sena could see rain dripping off the end of his redden nose. His dark hair was plastered to his forehead just as his tracksuit trousers were plastered to his legs.

Sena looked away as another car drove past, flattening himself against the cold wall to avoid the spray. He could still hear the steady thud of the persistent jogger but he knew it would be considered rude to look twice. Instead he squinted up at the sky, vainly looking for an end to the black cloud hanging over Tokyo's skyscrapers.

Unsurprisingly, he found none.

"Kobayakawa Sena?" Sena looked down in surprise.

"Shin-san!"

"Are you well?" The linebacker looked him up and down as though expecting to find some injury that prevented Sena from moving.

"I'm fine, just tired. Don't fancy walking home in the rain, you know." Sena replied with a watery smile.

"The rain's supposed to continue all night," Shin informed him with an apologetic tone.

"Oh," Sena looked back up the black sky tiredly, "I guess I should get back then." He shifted his aching shoulders with a wince.

"You are pain?" Shin frowned.

"No, no, I'm fine." Sena laughed a little nervously as he rubbed that back of his head, "Hiruma just gave us a pretty hard training session."

"Let me carry your bag."

"My bag?" Sena looked down at his carrier bag in surprise, "no it's fine honestly." Sena smiled again, "Anyway I should really get going." The high-school student looked apprehensively at the rain gathering in puddles across the street before stepping out into the icy downpour. "Ah, damn that's cold!" He exclaimed. He squeezed his eyes shut as the cold immediately streaked through his hair, down his neck and invaded the neck of his shirt- he was soaked in seconds.

The freezing running back reluctantly reopened his eyes and he gaped in astonishment as he registered the sight of Shin suddenly stripping in the middle of a rainstorm.

"Shin-san! What are…?" Sena's question was cut short as Shin held out his sweatshirt, "I can't take that! It's raining and you'll get cold!"

Shin shrugged now standing only in a plain blue t-shirt which was rapidly turning from damp to sodden, "My body mass is much more than yours, I am not as susceptible to the cold as you."

"Shin-san, you're shivering," Sena argued.

"I merely need to re-adjust to the temperature. I am not putting it back on so you may as well take it."

Sena looked down at the jumper; it was wet and the longer it was left in the rain the colder it would get, but the promise of its protection from the liquid ice currently running down his neck proved too tempting. Quickly he placed his bag on the floor and pulled it over his head.

It smelt like damp and sweat, swallowed his arms and hung down to the middle of his thighs, but remnants of Shin's body heat still clung to the fabric making Sena smile as he pushed the sleeves up to free his hands.

Shin swiftly used his distraction to steal the bag from Sena's side, holding it in his unbreakable grasp as he waited patiently.

Sena stared helplessly at his bag, "I said it was fine," he protested but already knew that his argument would be ignored.

"You are getting very wet." Shin answered plainly.

"So are you," Sena retorted with some childish rebellion.

"Yes."

Sena glanced up unhappily, "but you've already let me borrow your jumper."

"Then I will need to follow you home to get it back."

Sena opened his mouth to argue but the straight-faced linebacker had stumped him.

"Which way is your house?"

"But..." Shin's faced remained unmoved and Sena felt the last of his will crumble beneath the unrenlenting stare, "It's... it's just this way." Sena began walking in the direction Shin had been jogging and the other teenager fell into step with him.

They walked silently as the cold, harsh rain continued to fall, turning down the brightly-lit streets of suburban Tokyo. Sena tugged on the neck of his borrowed jumper in an effort to scupper any further attempts to freeze as much as his skin as possible and his fingers bumped along the excess material at its back. The boy remembered with an embarrassed jolt that this was a _hoody,_ and therefore it had a _hood._ With a quick jerk Sena pulled the thick fabric over his head and a blue wall blocked his view of any look his delayed reaction might have received from his rival.

Shin said nothing, not that Sena was really expecting him to, but suddenly the silence seemed so much more imposing than it had seconds before. The running back fiddled with the hem of the over-sized jumper as he tried to think of a Shin-friendly conversation.

"H-Have you been out long?"

"Yes."

"…"

The silence mocked his pitiful attempts.

"Erm… so, when is Oujou's next match?"

"Tomorrow."

Sena blinked in surprise, "Tomorrow? Won't you be tired if you train before a match?"

"I train everyday, my stamina will be satisfactory."

"But… will you train after the match as well?"

"Of course."

"You must really like American Football." Sena replied, feeling a little awed at his resolve.

Shin looked down at him curiously, "like?" Sena watched as he turned away again, his eyes becoming distant. "I… guess."

"You guess? But you put so much work into it!"

"I like getting stronger."

"But- But you already so strong…" A quick list of all the things Shin had accidently broken because of his ridiculous strength ran through Sena's mind.

"I want to be stronger so that in our next match I can fight against you."

"You like getting stronger because it means you can fight against… me?" Sena parroted with surprise. Even after accepting Shin as his rival Sena still had a hard time wrapping his head around the idea that the feeling was mutual.

"I like to play against you."

"Oh," Sena felt a warm tingle build up in his cheeks and quickly ducked his head as a small smile curved across his lips. From the corner of his eye he sneaked a peak at the soaked form beside him.

Shin's shirt was now plastered completely to his chest, moving like a second skin against the muscles that stood as testament to Shin's strength. Sena was struck, as he usually was when he stood beside Shin, with a sudden inadequacy followed swiftly by a fierce determination to improve.

Sena smiled, "Yeah, I like it too."

Shin looked down- his lips twitching with the merest hint of a curve- then grimaced as the motion caused his clothing to find new places to adhere its freezing surface to. "Where is your house?" He asked.

"Oh sorry!" Sena's eyes darted round the street desperately and a sneaking feeling welled up in his gut, "heh heh heh," Sena scratched the back of his head before raising his hand into the downpour to point at a gate about five houses back, "it was that one," he admitted.

…

Sena slipped the door shut behind him, a blush still high on his cheeks as he replayed the last leg of his conversation with Shin in his mind. Only he could be so stupid as to miss his own house!

"Sena-kun is that you?" His mum asked from the lounge, pulling his thoughts back to the present.

"Yeah, I just got back."

"God you must be soaked! You didn't even take a jacket!"

"No it's alright; I borr-" Sena stopped mid-sentence as his fingers plucked at Shin's hoody and he realised with some horror that he was still wearing it.

"What was that honey?"

"Err- nothing, I'm just going to put the rice away," Sena sped into the kitchen as he tried to figure out how he was going to return it. Maybe he could find his address somehow and mail to him? Or he could give it back after the match tomorrow- except it was a Friday so Sena would be at school. Or maybe he could chase after him now- he wouldn't look too stupid would he? Sena's thoughts trailed off; yes he would look stupid because he didn't even know which way Shin had gone.

"Sena, you're being very quiet, are you okay?"

Sena jolted in surprise as he realised he was holding the bag of rice half out of the carrier bag and it was slipping dangerously.

"Ah! Yeah; I'm good!" He called back as he lifted the rice quickly onto the shelf and wrapped up the plastic bag for recycling. "I'm gonna go upstairs!"

"Ok then, good night honey."

"Night Sena."

"Night!" Sena bit his lip as he quickly climbed the stairs, grimacing at the clammy touch of his clothing and was already pulling it off as he stepped into his room. His body shivered in the cold as he hastily rooted out a pair of comfortable jogging trousers and an old jumper from the depths of his cupboard and he quickly tugged them on over goose-bumped skin.

Sena scooped Shin's jumper off the chair he'd thrown it on and hung it carefully over the radiator beneath his window. As he stared out at the torrential precipitation he wondered briefly if Oujou could sue him for inadvertently causing their Ace to contract pneumonia.

* * *

Remember, if you want more please leave a review! I won't be continuing this unless there's people who want to read it ^__^


	2. 2nd Down

I'm back! I have to say I was amazed by the level of response I received! I've been a little busy with school but finally I've managed to get chapter 2 and 3 finished! (Chapter 3 is going to need a loooot of editing before its post-worthy though!)

Anyway, I'm going to have a bit of an old-school moment here because some of my reviewers were anonymous, but I still want you to know how much I appreciate the feedback!

thestrayhippo: thank you and I couldn't agree more! Moar Shin, moar!

Lanna-chan: I know I've already said it but: thank you, thank you, thank you ^^ you are the best XD

To all my other wonderful supporters: Thank You!

Ok enough of my yapping, on with the disclaimer!

I do not own Eyeshield 21- even I couldn't come up with something with so much slashy potential XD

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Chapter 2

For the second time in two days Sena trudged unhappily towards the shops just round the corner from his home; why his mum couldn't have asked him to pick up milk while he was here yesterday Sena would never know.

Sena sighed as the rain beat down on his flimsy umbrella and pulled his coat closer with his free hand- at least he was prepared for the weather this time round.

As Sena stepped inside he was blasted by hot air from the overhead heater. He lingered for several moments in the heat, his closed umbrella dripping a small puddle on to the linoleum floor.

"Uh, excuse me?" Sena jumped and whirled round to see a young girl standing in the downpour, clearly waiting for him to move.

"OH! Sorry," Sena backed out of the way quickly, bowing apologetically the whole time.

"Thank you," the girl bowed vaguely and trotted past him towards the sweet section.

"Uh yeah…" Sena trailed off and blushed as he wondered how long she had been waiting for him to move. His eyes darted around to see if anyone had noticed and an old lady waiting at a checkout eyed him disapprovingly. Sena ducked his head and hurried over to where the fridges hummed contentedly beneath the squeaking wheels of trolleys on their last legs. He grabbed 2 litres of milk from a line and headed straight to a self-checkout so he didn't have to wait in a queue behind mothers stockpiling food for the week with their screaming children.

The self-checkouts were directly opposite the door and (as he waited for a man in front of him to scan through a pack of condoms, a can of whipped cream and a tub of out-of-season strawberries) Sena stared resolutely outside, trying to work out if it was still raining or not. Of course, the stream of umbrellas passing by kind of gave it away but Sena thought making sure with his own eyes was probably the polite thing to do.

A few minutes later Sena was standing in the doorway, staring out apprehensively at the most-definitely-falling rain. The new bag was already cutting into his hand as he grimaced at the continual rainfall.

Shin jogged past.

Sena stared in blank astonishment for a second at the air he'd just past before jogging after him.

"Shin-san!" Sena called as he struggled to re-erect his umbrella.

Shin whirled round to greet him, "Kobayakawa Sena," he bowed respectively and Sena hastily copied him.

"Well done in the game today!" He said with a smile.

"Thank you." Shin bowed again, "You are shopping again?"

"Eh? Oh! Yeah, my mum only realised this morning that we'd ran out of milk as well," Sena smiled ruefully as he stared at the boy in front of him. He was soaked, again, with a thick blue jumper draped heavily over his broad frame. "You have a new jumper…" Sena commented lamely.

"Yes."

"Err… I've… I've still got yours- it's at home, I put it on the radiator," Heat pooled in Sena's cheeks at the confession and he was forced to look away from Shin's piercing gaze.

"Yes. That is why I have bought this one."

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I should have brought it down to the game for you! Or brought it to your house! Or...or..." Sena stalled as he bowed rapidly, his blush flaming redder in his guilt.

"You had school today and you do not know where I live." Shin replied with a straight face.

"Ah- well… erm…yes… but I can bring it to you tomorrow! You run this way every night right?"

"There is no need; I do not need that jumper anymore."

"Ah… I … you don't want it?"

"You may dispose of it if you wish."

Sena opened his mouth to reply but when all that came out was another 'oh' he quickly closed it again. The rain hammered onto his umbrella and Sena watched with some fascination as fat droplets fell from Shin's exposed fringe.

"I must continue." Shin finally said after a few minutes of silence.

"Ah right, of course!" Sena bowed respectfully to the boy, peeking through his hair as the other copied him.

"Goodbye Kobayakawa Sena," Shin said as he straightened.

"Err yeah, I'll see you…soon, maybe, you know- if my mum's forgotten anything else." Sena chuckled and scratched his head with the back of the hand holding his umbrella.

"Yes." Shin turned and jogged away.

Sena watched his back run through the spotlights of Tokyo's streetlamps with a strange sense of disappointment. Suddenly the walk home seemed utterly unappealing alone and Sena realised that, from the moment he'd seen him, he'd been hoping that Shin would walk him home again.

…

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I know this chapter doesn't really go anywhere, but I just wanted to go a little more into Sena's thoughts and obliviousness. Please review and tell me what you think, is it worth continuing?

P.S. I apologise for any glaring mistakes, if you saw any please tell me!


	3. 3rd Down

Oh wow, 25 reviews already! Thank you so much for all your support it's what kept me up until 2 o'clock Wednesday night writing chapter 4. Sorry if there's any mistakes, please keep a weather-eye out for them and tell me if you see any so I can get them fixed immediately!

**Again for the anonymous reviewers:**

iNzombiac: Laziness is healthy! I keep trying to tell this to my lecturers but they don't believe me . Yes and luff to you too ^__^

Lanna-chan: You just sleep as much as you need, me little lamb

**And a little note for shoeythoughts:**

Ahh I just realised I read your review wrong and feel like such a dweeb! I must remember the importance of little words like 'too'…

**And finally the disclaimer**:

If I was writing Eyeshield 21 I don't think american football would be the focus of my narrative…

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Chapter 3

Sena yawned, his arms stretching above his head as he turned to look at his digital clock.

Half-past six.

Sena moaned and turned away, intent on slipping back into unconsciousness but a pressure in his abdomen foiled his plan. With a mild curse the running-back peeled back his covers and stepped reluctantly into the cold, dark morning. Sena shivered and hurried into the landing, weaving round the bookcase next to his room to get to the bathroom. Through the door Sena became aware of the sounds of his mother starting breakfast and he frowned over this for a second before he remembered with a jolt that today was Monday which meant tomorrow he'd be leaving Tokyo for the Christmas Bowl.

A wide, excited grin stretched across Sena's face as he quickly washed his hands and brushed his teeth.

Sena's stomach rumbled unhappily as the smell of his mother's cooking wafted up the stairs and, feeling too awake to return to bed anyway, he plodded downstairs.

"Sena? I thought you didn't have school today?" his mother commented as she heard him step into the hallway.

"I don't," Sena yawned "I'm just used to waking up now."

"You don't want to go back to bed?"

"No it's ok."

"Alright then, I'll put some more rice on," she replied.

"Ok," Sena shuffled into the kitchen at sat down on the table opposite his father.

"Another bank's gone bust," his father said as greeting from behind his newspaper. Sena hummed and nodded his head as he reached for the juice in the centre of the table.

His efforts were hindered, however, by a sudden knock at the door.

The Kobayakawa family stared at each other, trying to work out who on earth would be knocking at seven o'clock in the morning.

"I'll get it," Sena offered, already sliding out of his seat. His personal opinion in the matter was the only people crazy enough to be going around knocking on people's doors so at seven a.m. were either over-zealous salesmen or one of his teammates. He shuffled down the corridor as he weighed the odds between it being Monta or Kurita asking breathlessly if he wanted to join an impromptu training session.

It was neither.

Sena gaped and Shin eyed him with a slightly concern expression.

"Are you well Kobayakawa?"

"What? Yes, yes I'm fine? What are you doing here?"

"Hiruma informed me that you must continue training today." A cold breeze flitted past the linebacker, making Sena shiver as it brushed over his exposed skin. For some reason the movement caught Shin's attention and his eyes flicked down to find the reason for it.

Shin blinked, "You are wearing my jumper," he stated in bemusement.

Sena eyes widened and his cheeks flooded with blood. Suddenly he was extremely aware of his bare legs and he found his fingers pinching the thigh-high hem of said jumper nervously, "ahh yes…"

"You did not dispose of it."

Sena's blushed deepened as he shook his head gently, "i-it's good t-to sleep in…" he stammered in embarrassment. The truth was he had been sleeping in it for so long that he'd almost forgotten that it wasn't his.

There was an awkward silence for several seconds before Sena's mother peered out of the kitchen door to ask who it was.

"Err… this is Shin-san, he's my- my… personal trainer…" he replied, unable to think of anything else. He stepped out of the way so his mother could see him more clearly and Shin bowed politely.

"Hello Shin-san, such lovely manners," Sena's mother beamed, "but doesn't a personal trainer cost money?" She asked uncertainly.

"Ah- no… it's like a volunteer programme," Sena didn't think trying to explain how Hiruma had actually gotten his hands on 'personal trainers' would be conducive to his mother's continuing support in American Football; the parallels between her and Mamori were just too great.

"Oh what a lovely idea- Shin-san do come in, we're just about to have breakfast but I always make too much."

"I am afraid I can only consume nutrients at a set time everyday," Shin answered with another bow, "thank you for your offer."

"Oh-" the beeping of the rice-cooker distracted Sena's mother from the rest of her sentence and she disappeared back into the kitchen as she lamented at the cold outdoors and demanded that he should come in anyway.

Sena smiled hesitantly back at the linebacker, still standing aside from the doorway so he could enter if he wanted to, "erm- is everyone else practising too?" He found himself feeling oddly nervous at the idea of practising alone but he was sure it had something to do with the endangered well-being of his rib-cage.

"I do not know."

"Oh… Are you not coming in? I'll probably be a few minutes."

"I am fine. Hiruma's arrival this morning meant I was unable to complete my training. I still have 146 push-ups."

"Ah… if you're sure," Sena replied tentatively.

"Yes thank you."

Sena stood indecisively in the door for a few moments his fingers once again finding the end of Shin's old hoody. Predictably Shin's gaze followed his movement and frown slowly creased his forehead.

"You sleep in my jumper?" he asked doubtfully.

The blush, which had been receding, now returned with a vengeance, "I should go and get ready," Sena was horrified to find his voice squeak a little higher than usual, and he quickly backed away as though it would hide his voice box's sudden regression to 13, "I'll be back in about ten minutes."

Sena shut the door firmly in Shin's questioning face, his cheeks flaming with mortification.

"Are you going out?" His mother called from the kitchen.

"Y-yeah!" Sena replied.

"Are you going to eat breakfast before or do you want me to just put in a box for you to take with you?"

"Could you put it in a box please?" Sena asked, not wanting to increase his embarrassment by making Shin wait for him. Beside if Shin waited for too long he might think of some other embarrassing questions to ask like: didn't Sena have jumpers of his own to wear to bed?

Sena was horribly aware that he couldn't lie to save his life and trying to explain that the smell always brought back memories of Shin and the football pitch was definitely not on Sena's 'To Do' list.

"Of course I can."

"Thanks!"

It took Sena a record-breaking three minutes to pull on some clothes, find his trainers- one of which had found its way into Pitt's basket- and roll his bed away. He was tugging the shoes onto his feet as his mother brought out a freshly made bento box.

"Have fun today; don't tire yourself out too much. You're going away tomorrow remember."

"I know, I'll see you later, thank you," Sena replied in rush as he took his breakfast and threw on a coat, "bye!"

Seconds later he was outside and staring at the straining muscles of Shin's neck. As he watched the boy pushed himself up and down with one arm Sena felt his blush began to restore itself and he wondered if rushing had been such a good idea after all. Maybe he could have just pretended to be ill, or 'fallen' down the stairs (after a running leap), or maybe he could have just skipped the stairs and jumped out of the window. That way he could avoided his embarrassment altogether instead of just standing here now, waiting for Shin to finish and desperately hoping that he wouldn't try to continue their previous conversation.

After what seemed an eternity Shin finally pushed himself completely off the floor and looked up at his patiently waiting rival who held his breakfast a little tighter as he stood expectantly.

"I am ready to leave," Shin informed him and Sena held in a sigh of relief.

"Yes, me too," he replied a little too exuberantly, "do-do you want to run?"

"We are already late." Sena smiled and tucked his breakfast beneath his arm like a football.

A normal high-schooler would have managed the journey in 10 minutes; it took Shin and Sena five.

They sped through the open school gates and Sena stared across the field for several seconds. Everyone was here, he realised with a beaming grin.

"You're late fucking shrimp!" Hiruma shouted as his converted oxygen machine wheeled its way across the field.

"I thought we weren't having a team practice." Sena exclaimed.

"We weren't! Only you and the fucking monkey were supposed to turn up but all these fucking morons decided to join in," Hiruma cackled demonically, clearly pleased with the development. "Get dressed already fucking shrimp!"

He wheeled away to express this pleasure by yelling at Kurita and Komisuba, leaving Sena open to be tackled to the floor by a delighted Monta.

"This is awesome max! Everyone's turn up! I've been here since five!" The boy informed him. He pumped his football into the air with a grin before running away from Ikkyu who was clearly not happy at being dragged out of bed at 7 o'clock only to be ignored by his charge.

"Uh-," Sena blinked at Monta's disappearing form before laughing.

"Would you prefer to eat before training?" Shin asked from beside him

Sena looked up at the boy in surprise, "Well I…" Sena's stomach rumbled hungrily and he laughed nervously.

"You should eat."

"Y-yeah," Sena blushed a little as he pried open his bento box and Shin sat down beside him. Trying to prevent an awkward silence Sena attempted to strike up a conversation, "did you not bring your uniform today?" he asked unable to see a bag.

"I brought it here after Hiruma informed me of today's training session."

"Before you came to get me?" Sena asked in surprise.

"I must pass the school before I reach your house."

"I wonder why Hiruma didn't just tell me last night that I was suppose to come back today." Sena frown as he watched the club's resident delinquents get tackled by their teachers.

"Training fucking shrimp!" Hiruma yelled steering his make-shift vehicle past the pair, "if you think you can relax then you'll be even more tired when you get to practise!" The demonic quarterback cackled again as he wheeled towards where Yukimitsu and Ishimaru (who for some reason had turned up to practice for a team has wasn't even completely part of) were being dragged behind their trainers. Riku looked up at his arrival but quickly spotted Sena behind him and he waved frantically.

He raced over, seemingly forgetting about his poor student, "Sena! Excited about tomorrow?"

Sena, halfway through a mouthful food, nodded eagerly.

"You better not wear out yourself out too much today though!" the other running back warned, "or do something stupid like break a leg; that would be so typical of you," Riku laughed. "You were always so clumsy; do you remember when you fell out of the first floor window at school because you tripped over your own feet? There was blood everywhere; the whole class was convinced you were dead."

"Is that where you received the scar on your left thigh?" Shin asked

"Ah- yeah, I caught it on the glass as I fell out."

Riku looked between the two curiously, "when did you see Sena's thigh?" he asked Shin and Sena felt his blood flood to his face.

"This morning."

Sena wanted to die.

"This morning?"

"Yes before we left for practise."

Sena realised he really should be stopping the direction of the conversation but, as he lifted his head to correct any misconceptions that might be forming, he caught sight of Kakei looking over at them with a raised eyebrow and his face flushed a deeper red all over again.

"You were at Sena's house this morning? Doing what?"

"I was informing him of today's practice."

"Oh," Riku grinned mischievously, "for a minute there I thought there was something going on that I didn't know about," he winked at Sena.

"I don't understand," Shin frowned, "if you knew why I was at Sena's house then why did you ask?"

Riku laughed, "That's not what I meant."

"Riku-kun, don't you think you should be getting back to Ishimaru now?" Sena asked, mentally crossing his fingers that this topic wouldn't go any further.

"Hmm?" Riku whirled round to see his temporary charge panting behind him, his hands propping him up on his legs, "oh sorry! I forgot you were there."

Sena face-faulted at his friend's lack of tact.

"It's alright," Ishimaru replied, a resigned and dejected air curling around him.

"Come on then! Let's get back to training!" Riku exclaimed, "I'll talk to you later Sena," he shouted as he darted back down to the running track, Ishimaru desperately trying to keep up behind him.

"I do not understand what he meant," Shin was still frowning when Sena turned back to him.

"Err… I just wouldn't worry about it…" Sena replied weakly, his face still burning.

Shin's frown deepened, "perhaps we should not train today."

"Eh? Why?" Sena asked in shock.

"You have been very red for the past hour; are you not developing a fever?"

…

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Don't forget to review my lovelies, I might be able to finish off chapter 4 and get some way through chapter 5 by the end of next week if my lazy head gets enough motivational kicks in the arse so please feel free to kick away!


	4. 4th Down

Chapter Four! Everybody rejoice- I finally got it done. Although the further I go into this story the less humour there seems to be :(. Hopefully the little bit of ShinxSena here will make up for it though ^_^

Ah! I forgot to reply to the anonymous reviews! I can't believe it's been up for so long and I hadn't realised T_T

**Siana: **Thank you ^__^ I can definitely settle for cool- I don't like hot things anyway (ok sorry, terrible pun)

**qof: **Aww thank you ^__^ I'm certainly glad you thought so

Again I say a big thank you to everyone who reviewed, I hope to see you in the next round!

**Disclaimer:** If I owned this manga many characters would join in with Mizumachi's impromptu stripping…

* * *

Chapter Four

Sometimes Sena wished his life wasn't so hectic; even as one tournament ended it seemed Sena was thrown into training for another. His body ached in protest as he forced it homeward, his bag hanging loosely at his side and slipping dangerously in his weak grasp.

He almost didn't notice the boy leaning against a drainpipe beside the local mini-mart.

"Ah… Shin-san?"

"Kobayakawa."

"Is something wrong?" Sena asked unsurely. He was sure that Shin should be training now and, short of direct orders, Sena had never known Shin to stop training for anything.

"I am unable to continue training."

The answer perturbed the running back, "Why?" surreptitiously he checked the other over for an injury.

"A pain in my ankle is disturbing my running."

"A pain? Have you sprained it?" Sena asked.

"In my experience sprains do not bleed."

"You're bleeding?"

As an answer Shin lifted up the back of his jogging trousers to expose the problem.

"Kami-sama!" Sena gasped in shock as he stared. The only place on the back of Shin's sock that was still white was a thin rim along the top; Sena couldn't see the inside of his trainer but he was fairly sure it would be just as blood-stained.

"What is wrong?"

"How long have you been running on this?" Sena exclaimed, too occupied with fretting to notice the question.

"About two miles."

"Two miles! Didn't you stop before then to find out what it was?"

"I did."

Sena blinked, "you did… but you kept going?"

"It was only a blister at that time."

"Couldn't you have gone back to put a plaster on it?"

This time it was Shin who blinked, "…should I have?"

"Have… have you never had a blister before?" Sena asked hesitantly.

"Usually they are not so troublesome." Shin frowned, "I have bought a new brand of trainers and I do not think they fit properly."

"I see..." Sena trailed off, "do you- have any plasters?"

"No, I shall have to return to retrieve one."

"Return two miles?" Sena asked with wide eyes, "is there nowhere closer?"

"No."

"What-what if I get one from my house? I could get one and bring it back," Sena suggested; of course as soon as he did the weather had to ruin it by starting to rain, "…Or you could just come with me- it's not like my mum would mind or anything…" he added with a hand scratching the back of head embarrassedly.

"That would be appreciated," Shin replied, inclining his head politely. Shin pushed himself away from the drainpipe and Sena stared as he began walking unaffectedly in the direction of Sena's house. "Is something the matter?" Shin asked, turning with a frown as he realised he was not being followed.

"Y-Your foot, doesn't hurt?" Sena asked as he stared at the boy in astonishment.

"It is endurable."

­"It's just… well I thought, you know, it might help if- if you just pushed down the back of your shoe and walked on that." Sena felt a blush start on his cheeks as Shin frowned down at him. The linebacker said nothing in return but he did lean down to pull off his trainer.

Sena tried not to blanch as his suspicions were confirmed by the new red coating its inside had acquired.

"Is that better?" Sena asked as Shin slipped his foot back into the shoe.

"Yes thank you."

Sena smiled shyly, "w-we should go before the rain gets worse."

"Yes." Sena hesitated for a second, half-expecting Shin to say something else before remembering that this was Shin and the rules of pleasantries didn't really apply here.

Shin trailed behind him at first but then fell into step as he got used to his new footwear.

"Is that better?" Sena asked again for the lack of anything better to say.

"Yes."

"Good…"

"…has your training been progressing well?" Shin asked and Sena stared up at him with surprise.

"Ah, y-yes, and yours Shin-san?"

"It has been satisfactory," Shin commented.

"That's good," Sena replied, licking his lips as a raindrop splattered against them, "um… I was wondering… you said that you'd run two miles already but… how far do you usually run?"

"I will usually run 2 miles in the morning before school and then a further 5 miles in the evening."

"…Wow… a-and on the weekends?" Sena prompted.

"At least 10 miles a day."

Sena looked up at his rival with wide eyes- feeling somewhat like a 4-year-old gazing up at his current hero- and resisted the urge to shake his head disbelievingly.

"Is something wrong with that number?" Shin asked with a frown.

"No, no!" Sena exclaimed earnestly, "it's just… how do you find the time to do everything else? You put so much time into training."

"Everything else?"

"Like school work a-and… things." Sena gestured weakly. If it had been anyone else he would have said 'and friends' but Sena was fairly sure that Shin's social life was minuscule at best.

"Any outstanding homework is completed between the hours of nine and ten." Shin replied.

"But aren't you really tired by then?"

"I find my stamina is sufficient."

"I'd probably be dead on my feet," Sena chuckled nervously, a hand coming up to scratch the back of his head.

"Your stamina would increase with repetition."

"Ah… yeah, but I don't have anywhere near the dedication of you, Shin-san." The smaller boy looked down with a self-deprecating smile.

"Perhaps not…"

The rain pattered loudly around them as the two boys walked down the street in silence. Sena peeked at the taller boy from behind his fringe wondering whether not to voice a question that he'd been wondering about ever since his first walk home with the boy.

"Is something the matter?" Shin finally asked, catching one of his furtive glances.

"Shin-san, why did you join the American Football club?" Sena replied quietly.

"Because I was asked," Shin replied, his face as unchanged as ever.

"So you didn't like American Football before that?"

Shin shook his head, releasing a shower of droplets onto his shoulders, "it seemed a good way to become stronger."

"You wanted to be stronger, even then?"

"Yes."

"But…" Sena bit his lip and Shin looked down at him curiously, "why?"

"I am... very competitive."

Sena's mouth parted in surprise, this was the first time Shin had really spoken to him regarding anything outside of American Football. "What happened?" he pressed, suddenly wanting to know more about his rival.

Shin seemed taken aback by his questioning, "I…I was chasing a car because the owner had dropped his wallet and I passed a boy running the other way. He was faster than me." Something niggled in the back of Sena's mind like a forgotten memory but the first year was distracted by Shin continuing to speak, "I think I was on my way home from school."

"You ran after someone's car just to give him his wallet back?" Sena bit his lip to contain his sudden urge to say 'aww' and wondered if maybe being friends with Mamori for so long had affected his mind.

"Yes."

"That was really…" sweet, "…nice."

"Would you have not done the same?"

"Ah, yeah, probably," Sena laughed quietly and scratched his head again.

"This one is your house, is it not?" Shin asked, coming to a stop besides a wooden gate.

"Yeah," Sena replied, he smiled wanly and tried to pretend that he hadn't almost walked straight past it again as he lead the boy up the garden path.

The warm, dry air of his house enveloped Sena like a blanket and it was only then that he fully realised how gradually wet he had become. He pulled his sodden socks from his equally sodden shoes just as his mother called out a hello from the sitting room.

"Hi Mum, um… Mum, are the plasters still in the kitchen?"

"Yes, why have did you hurt yourself at practice?" She asked and Sena could hear the sounds of her standing and crossing the room, the TV still playing one of her favourite soaps.

"Ah no, not me. Um Shin-san has a blister so I was wondering…?" Sena trailed off as his mum came to stand in the doorway.

"Look at the two of you, soaked to the bone! You need to get out of those clothes before you catch a cold." His mother exclaimed, her fingers pulling at Sena's coat.

"Mum!" Sena pulled away from her grasp with a red line forming over his cheekbones, "I'll do it in a minute, but I need to get a plaster first," he ducked past his mother into the kitchen and opened up the drawer with the first aid kit as he listened to his mum ask why Shin needed one in the first place. Sena returned just as Shin replied.

"A blister formed whilst I was running."

"Erm… I've got it," Sena interrupted hesitantly as he held up the white rectangle.

"I'll leave you two to it; I want to find out what happened between Yuki and Tsugumi anyway." Sena's mum disappeared back into the sitting room and Sena looked back at Shin.

"Umm, you know, you should probably clean your foot before you put this on," he said, holding the plaster between his thumb and forefinger, "you can use our bathroom if you'd like…"

"Thank you." Shin replied, with a small bow.

"I-it's just this way." Sena lead the boy up the stairs and pointed at the door in front of them, "that's it. My room's just there," he pointed to the next door, "if you need me." He held out the plaster and Shin took it carefully

"Thank you," Shin repeated before stepping into the bathroom.

Sena shifted in his damp clothes, grimacing as it stuck unpleasantly to his skin before hurrying to bedroom to root out new ones. He was just pulling a new t-shirt over his head when Shin stepped into his room.

"It ripped." The taller boy stated. Sena stared at pieces in Shin's hand and realised that he really should have seen this coming.

"Ah- it's alright; we've got a few more." Sena smiled wanly before realising Shin was still dripping, his jumper hanging wet and heavy over his broad shoulders. Reluctantly because he really didn't bring up any conversation about it, Sena reached behind him for the jumper sprawled across his bed and held it out to the linebacker, "err… well, you should probably change out of yours and this is yours anyway so you may as well put it on instead seeing as the one your wearing is all wet…" Sena rambled and pink tinge slowly spread across his cheeks.

"Thank you," Shin replied, taking the blue hoody with a large hand.

"I'll just go and get another plaster," Sena said and tried to look as nonchalant as possible as he sought refuge in the kitchen. He grabbed several plasters this time- just in case- and by the time he'd returned to his room Shin was wearing his old jumper, his new one dripping in his hand as he stood in the exact same spot Sena had left him.

"Here," Sena thrust the new plasters into the boy's hand, "erm… do you want me to put that over the radiator?" Sena asked, nodding at the sodden lump of fabric in Shin's grasp.

"Yes please," Sena smiled and quickly busied himself with trying to make the hoody lie flat against his radiator. "This one's ripped too." He heard only seconds later. He turned around to see Shin kneeling on one knee and frowning down at two separate pieces of material in his hands.

"Do you want me to do it?" His mouth asked before the question had even been fully debated with his brain, Sena flushed a pink and spun back around to flat out some non-existent wrinkles in Shin's jumper.

"That… would be helpful," Shin finally replied. Sena blinked in surprised and twisted round to look at him again. Shin held his gaze steadily and Sena sudden found himself torn between wanting to move closer and wanting to back away.

Shin held out another plaster and Sena moved forward to take it from him cautiously; the air was tinted with the Shin's smell and it made Sena feel just a little too comfortable after the weeks spent falling asleep to it.

The running back kneeled down and peeled away the plastic-covering with surprisingly steady hands, "you'll have to move your trousers out of the way," he murmured softly and Shin obeyed, the damp fabric making swishing sound as it was drawn upwards.

Sena leaned in further as he held the protective padding over the ugly wound at the back of the linebacker's ankle and pressed the adhesive to his skin. "There," Sena breathed as he moved away from Shin's body heat.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

An awkward silence stretched between them as Sena caught Shin's gaze only inches from his own; he felt the other's breath brush past his cheek and play lazily with his hair just before the linebacker rose to his feet abruptly, "I should leave."

"Ah, right, yes," Sena agreed, nodding as he climbed to his feet, "but you shouldn't do any more running tonight." He warned.

Shin frowned down at him, halfway between displeased and confused with the idea, "why not?"

Sena stammered and blushed, "Be-Because your b-blister will need time t-to start healing, s-so you shouldn't aggravate it or anything,"

"I see," Shin seemed quite perturbed with the development. "…Then I shall have to do an extra 4 hours of swimming to compensate."

Sena felt a smile quirk at the sides of his mouth, "R-right. Erm, you should take your jumper, you don't want to forget it again…" he stepped back to the radiator, realising in hindsight that there had been little point in taking it the first place as he picked up the warmed-through, water-logged fabric.

"Thank you," Shin bowed deeply and Sena felt that blush creeping back across his face.

"No, no, it was nothing," he argued, crossing his hands over one another to punctuate his words, "I don't mind helping," Sena smiled shyly and glanced away, his eyes catching sight of the rain falling outside, "erm…do you want to borrow an umbrella for your walk home?"

"No, I will be fine thank you."

"Um, ok, I'll just walk you to the door then."

"Thank you." Sena smiled in return even as he wished the boy could stay longer; there was something about Shin's simplicity that made him so easy to be around.

Sena led the boy back down the stairs to the porch, and then crossed his arms awkwardly as he watched the other slip on his shoes. "I'll err… good luck in your training Shin-san," Sena said as Shin opened his door.

Shin turned back to face him "Yours too," Shin replied as he bowed politely. Sena rushed to do the same, going just a little too deep and staying just a little long so that he almost missed Shin's departure altogether.

"I'll see you soon Shin-san!" Sena called through the rain just as Shin opened the gate at the bottom of his garden; Shin said nothing but he did look back as he closed it behind him and Sena had to smile as Shin's dark gaze met his own.

"Has Shin-san gone already?" Sena's mother asked, her voice softly pulling his attention away from the outside.

"Yes, he only needed a plaster," Sena replied as he closed the door on the miserable weather and a broad, blue-covered back.

"Oh." Sena waited to see if she had anything else to say but appeared she had become re-engrossed in her programme

The young football player yawned lazily and stretched as he re-climbed the stairs. As he stepped into his room Sena was re-acquainted with the smell of Astroturf, the hint of perspiration and the heady sort of musk that came from the excess of testosterone. He bit his lip as that comfortable feeling started to creep back into his limbs and the drowsiness, which had seemed to disappear around Shin, came back in full force. Sena sat heavily on the side of his bed, absently toeing off his socks as he shuffled backwards.

'I'm going to stink in the morning,' he thought to himself as he crawled into bed, 'with all the games we've won so far Hiruma could have got a shower room put in at some point, now I'm too tired to go and have one." But then, Sena had to admit to himself, Hiruma was to blame for most of his problems these days.

…

Dok. Dok. Dok.

Sena groaned and squinted in the sunlight streaming through his window. Sunlight. Shit. Another groan slipped from Sena's mouth as he remembered the morning practice he was probably supposed to be attending right now.

Reluctantly the running back glanced up at his alarm clock and the relief flowed over him like a cool shower on a hot day. He still had half an hour.

Determinedly Sena pulled his body out from beneath his duvet and realised he was still in his training uniform from yesterday. Warily he sniffed the crease of his arm and flinched at the smell. Pulling at the top Sena headed for the bathroom but he never reached it_._

"Sena? IT'S FOR YOU!"

Sena blinked in surprise and stared down the stairs; he hadn't even realised that it had been the door that had woken him up. "IS IT MONTA?" He yelled back to his mother.

"NO, IT'S SHIN-SAN, HE SAYS HE HAS SOMETHING TO RETURN TO YOU!"

Sena frowned as he tried to think what Shin could want to return before remembering that he'd given the boy his jumper back yesterday, "COMING!" Sena quickly ran down, tugging his shirt back down for the minute.

"Here he is," he heard his mother say before she turned round to smile at him, "morning."

"Morning mum," Sena repeated.

"I'll see you again soon I hope Shin-san." The woman added as she left for the kitchen.

"Ah Shin-san, you didn't have to bring the jumper back, it _was_ yours." Sena said as he caught sight of the blue fabric in Shin's right-hand.

"I no longer have any use for it," Shin replied, "it would be of better use here." The jumper was thrust towards him and Sena took it knowing it would futile to try refusing.

"Thank you," he said softly, "is your foot any better?"

"It does not pain me as before," Shin replied with a small bow. "I must continue. We will meet again soon Kobayakawa."

"Haha, probably," Sena rubbed the back of his head as he chuckled shyly, "See you soon Shin-san."

The other bowed again and Sena copied the gesture just before Shin turned and disappeared down the garden path. His eyes lingered on the linebacker for a few seconds before he closed the door and frowned down at the hoody in his hands. It certainly looked the same and when Sena checked the label inside it was clear that it was the same brand; but there was something about the feel of it that made Sena suspicious.

"Sena? Are you alright?" Sena looked up to see his dad standing at the top of the stairs.

"Yes, fine, why wouldn't I be?"

Sena's father shrugged and padded down the stairs, "are you back out today?"

"Oh-!" Sena's head whipped round to the clock resting on the hallway table, "I've got to go!" He replied with horror. He scampered up the stairs to jump in the shower, knowing he only had fifteen minutes to clean, change and sprint to school, and knowing he would never make it.

…

* * *

For some reason every chapter I have done so far seems to have gotten longer and longer… Tell me what you think of this one though! ^__^

See you at the next chapter hopefully ^__^ Oh and cookies for the people who work out what's wrong with the jumper Shin gave to Sena ^^


	5. 5th Down

I know I said Friday to a lot of people, but I had less time then I thought I would in the afternoon and then on Saturday I was up in Lancaster (about three hour drive away D: Makayla no like cars when she's hung over). So I'm really, really sorry! But I'm getting it up now ^__^, instead of doing the art project that has to be in tomorrow ¬_¬

Anyway, in my opinion the last chapter was awful T__T I went through it and nearly cried. I've tried to patch it up though so hopefully some of the lines actually now make sense; however I am aiming to do much better here, in the final chapter, to apologise for the jerky sentences and many typos of Chapter Four.

And yes, I did just say final chapter. I didn't think it would come so soon either, but the poor characters have had enough- they're just refusing to go any further.

So now the end is nigh I want to say a huge thank you to all the people who ever reviewed- I wrote this chapter for you guys because without you I probably would have never had the motivation to reach even this point. From those who just popped in to give me an extra push to those who reviewed every chapter, I scrape and kneel:

**stealingthestars, Bar-Ohki, shoeythoughts, Falling Right Side-Up, injay22, inspiration_arts, CookieMonster525, iNzombiac, Sephony, Rae-Wolf-Demon, Night Foliage, Azamiko, Siana, qof, anonymous cow, Ria Sakazaki , F.A. Star Hawk, tsuki-san16, Slash Superqueen, Angel of The Fallen Stars, , mangafairy, thestrayhippo, Shekina666, **and of course** Lanna-chan **who doesn't even fangirl this manga but read through my story anyway ^__^

And for one last time, the disclaimer:

**Makayla does not own Eyeshield 21 and the characters party regularly to celebrate this fact. **

And an added warning: **This chapter contains quite a few spoilers for the current World Cup arc and most possibly every arc leading up to that.**

* * *

Chapter Five

The young face had beamed up at him and Sena had been helpless.

"So you'll help us with the eating contest?" Chuubou had asked and Sena was dearly regretting agreeing- at least he now knew why the Americans called it 'super size'.

The running back made his way delicately up the stairs, a hand pressed over his stomach as though it would keep the contents in place if it decided it wanted to come up again.

The first thing Sena did when he entered the Japanese team's common room was look for Monta. The young receiver was busy however, in a somewhat one-sided conversation with Taka. Normally Sena would have tricked the boy into leaving Hounjou junior alone but, for once, the catching genius seemed to be paying attention. Biting his lip Sena glanced round the room for a friendly face but all the usual suspects were missing.

In the corner Hiruma and Kid were leaning over images and sketches of the American team's plays, beside them Testuma sat as rigidly as ever, his eyes following the conversation. Nearby Agon was sprawled over one of the few sofas, he must have been sleeping because Ikkyu had perched himself on the end and was poking curiously at his newly grown hair whilst Yamabushifretted next to him.

Marco and Gaou had inhabited another corner of the room, seemingly content to lounge in their own fierce atmosphere, the smaller of the two occasionally inputting to a conversation that Yamato and Sakuraba had somehow become engrossed in only a chair's width away from them. Sena might had been tempted to approach the last two had it not been for the unnerving grin spread across Gaou's face- apparently his fight with Don had somehow managed to increase his already unnatural bloodlust.

Sena almost missed Shin, sitting silently in shadows with his features barely visible in the dimmed wall lights. The stern line of his mouth and the uncompromising stare of his gaze would have once unnerved Sena as much as Gaou's grin but in contrast to some of the other occupants of the room Sena found it almost welcoming. He crossed the room to take the seat next to him.

"Kobayakawa."

"Shin-san." Sena curled his legs up on the over-sized armchair in the hopes that it would heat up the cool fabric a little quicker, "don't you usually train after dinner?"

"I am waiting for my dinner to be sufficiently settled before continue my training."

"Oh," there was an empty pause and Sena continued to fill the silence, "are you going back down to the gym?"

"For two hours; I will then jog for a mile to relax my body for bed." Sena wondered how, after a day's heavy training, the other's body could be anything but 'relaxed for bed'. Although, Sena thought as a shiver ran through his body, some exercise might help him warm up.

"Are you cold?" Shin asked

"I'm alright," Sena replied with a smile, "It's just the dinner hall is much warmer than in here so I need to get used to it."

Shin frowned before suddenly pulling his hoody over his head and Sena was hit with a sense of déjà vu; although this time he was thankfully not stuck in the middle of a downpour. "Here," Shin said as he held out the article.

"Th-Thank you but I-I'm already w-wearing a jumper…" Sena replied apologetically, bowing his head respectfully.

"I hadn't noticed," Shin stated honestly, but he didn't retract his hand.

"But… you don't need to lend me yours again, Shin-san." Sena protested weakly.

"If your own jumper is sufficient at this occasion then why do you wear mine to bed?"

Sena choked, his cheeks flushing red with embarrassment, "T-that's b-because it's bigger!" he exclaimed, his blush spreading over his nose and past his cheekbones as he remembered the many times he'd fallen asleep with his pressed deeply into the fabric of said jumper.

"Then surely my jumper will be of more used to you now also." Shin replied logically.

"Ah…" Sena answered, unable to think of any other retort. Shin waited patiently and it didn't take long for Sena to yield, receiving the hoody with a quiet 'thank you'. He held the fabric loosely in his hands, before spreading out across his lap like a make shift blanket. His legs soaked up the extra warmth greedily.

"I am now comfortable enough to continue training," Shin abruptly announced and Sena looked up at him in surprise as the other stood with respectful bow, "I will see you again later."

"Ah- y-yes," Sena replied with surprise at the sudden farewell but the boy had already left. Left him surrounded by a bloodthirsty Gaou, a nearly-awoken and cranky Agon and a scarily satisfied Hiruma cleaning his guns. Sena glanced around the room nervously and caught the amused gaze of Yamato who looked pointedly at Shin's jumper before quirking an eyebrow.

Sena blushed as Sakuraba followed Yamato's gaze and gave him a bewildered look, "Shin gave you his jumper?"

"Y-yes. I was cold."

"Really? Shin doesn't usually notice anything outside of American Football." Sakuraba smiled and for some reason the receiver's words only caused Sena's blush to deepen.

"Yes, your linebacker's ignorance does seem to be one of his most obvious traits," Marco commented smoothly.

"It's not so much ignorance," Sakuraba argued, "it's more like… he only chooses to pay attention to what he considers important."

"So clearly Sena-kun's health is something he considers important then," Yamato mocked with a grin which only got wider as Sena's blush travelled further down his neck and tingled in the tips of his ears.

"I guess," Sakuraba agreed with a smile.

"I-I think I'm going to go to bed," Sena declared, standing up with his face still burning.

"Aren't you going to give Shin back his jumper first?" Yamato asked innocently and Sena's hand reflexively curled around the fabric in his right hand in surprise.

"Ah, yes, I'll go down now, erm…"

"See you later Sena-kun," Yamato finished for him.

"Y-yeah," the first-year bowed respectfully before hastily following Shin out of the room.

The gym was only a few doors down from the common room so as soon as Sena stepped out into the corridor he could hear the soft clinks of the weight machines and it only gradually got louder as he padded down the corridor on bare feet. The door was made of glass so Sena could see Shin before he even entered. As he stood unnoticed he debated whether to just slip in and out, depositing the jumper on the table next to the entrance, but then Shin looked up and Sena was caught. The running back smiled wanly before pushing at the pull only door.

Great, he hadn't even entered the room and he was already making a fool of himself. Sena sighed as he pulled back, the door opening silently, and stepped inside. He shivered in the air conditioning, goose-bumps covering his body in an instant.

"I'm going up to bed," he started, holding the jumper over the table, "so I thought I'd, you know, return this."

Shin pulled his forearms together, the effort visible in the veins straining against his skin, "Thank you but I have no need of it."

"But-" Sena almost protested but cut himself off as he noticed the sweat already coating the linebacker. The boy had foregone a shirt, probably because it would have been ruined within minutes, and Sena bit his lips as he stared at one of the most defined muscle structures he'd ever seen.

"Did you not say you were going to bed?" Shin asked after a minute or two of silence and Sena jumped a little in surprise, tearing his gaze from the solid, constant pace of Shin's weight lifting.

"Ah- yeah but…" Sena licked his lips, "erm, I was… I mean, how much does that weigh?"

"120 kilograms."

Sena felt his mouth part in astonishment as he tried to comprehend how a man could lift over twice his weight using only his pectoral muscles. He wondered for a brief worried second if Shin might return the question- Sena didn't think he'd be able to stay in the same room for very long after admitting 20 kilograms- but thankfully the linebacker said nothing.

"Could… could you do more?" he asked curiously.

Shin shot him a look and Sena thought for a second he caught some amusement in the boy's eyes, "yes, but I would be unable to lift it for the required time."

Sena bit his lip but a new question was already forming, "how much?"

"I don't know; I haven't measured it recently. Last time it was 140."

Sena shivered as a breeze slipped through the open window only a few metres in front of him and he glanced down at the jumper in his hand which was still suspended over the table beside him.

"Are you staying?" Shin asked, his arms still pumping steadily. Sena looked back up at him in surprise and realised that he wanted to.

"Yeah," he replied quietly.

"You should put that on then." Shin didn't have to clarify what 'that' was.

Sena slowly retracted his arm, and contemplated the jumper for a second before slipping it over his head with a sigh; even with what he was already wearing the hoody swamped him.

"How come I always seem to be stealing your clothes?" He asked as he slipped his hands into the front pocket.

"It's not stealing if you've been offered."

"Why do you keep offering then?" Sena replied quietly.

Shin looked over at him but instead of replying he just returned to staring straight-ahead. Sena frowned but lowered himself to the floor, leaning against a wall. As he curled into himself his nose was graced with the hoody's smell and he had to wonder when Shin's scent had gone from reminding him of the thrill of football to just being…nice.

"Am I wrong in thinking that it is the correct thing to do?" Shin suddenly asked and Sena looked up at him in surprise.

"The right thing… to do…?"

"To end someone's suffering." Sena couldn't help but think that Shin was being a little over-dramatic.

"Well, yeah it is…" he started, unfortunately he couldn't think of anything to say afterwards so he just fiddled absently with his hands. A silence filled the room broken only by the constant clink of Shin's weightlifting. Sena looked down at the blue sweatshirt again, his fingers coming out of their warm hiding place to play with the frayed, worn end.

Suddenly Shin stopped and Sena glanced up to see what he was doing next. Shin caught his gaze, he was frowning as though he had come to some decision he wasn't sure of but he looked determined. "I like the way it smells when I get it back."

Sena felt his eyes widen to the size of dinner plates and a red blush raced over his skin until his whole body felt aflame.

Shin didn't look away from him.

Sena tried to say something but his mind was as blank as if he'd won the Christmas Bowl all over again.

"I apologise if I have offended you," Shin continued, standing up from the leather seat and moving onto another. He was doing his legs now, Sena noted absently, watching as the boy lift himself and 120 kilos; his muscles clenched and relaxed beneath Shin's tracksuit bottoms and Sena couldn't stop staring.

"Kobayakawa." Sena's eyes snapped up and he was staring into that black gaze again.

"Yes?"

"Have I offended you?" Shin asked, something like curiosity colouring his tone.

"What? No! No…I- err, I was surprised…" Sena trailed off.

"I see." It was Shin who broke their eye contact, looking forwards as his legs pumped relentlessly and Sena found his eyes trailing back over a shirtless chest down to those powerful limbs. Shin was sweating, his thin tracksuit bottoms were sticking to his skin and it was ridiculously easy to watch the muscles of his thighs flex with each lift. "Did you want to train?"

Sena jumped as Shin's voice broke through his revere and he glanced up with wide eyes, "eh?"

"You were staring, I wondered if you wanted to train."

Sena felt his mouth fall open and his blush coming raging back, "ah- no I'm- I'm fine thanks."

"Then should I think you have some other reason for staring?" Shin turned his head, his eyes finding Sena's easily and trapping them there.

"Uh-" Sena swallowed and licked his lips as he watched Shin's motions slow, then come completely to a stop. Shin was stopping in the middle of training and that phrase made Sena feel very uneasy.

"Takami has informed me that many males stare at me because they are jealous." Shin started slowly as though he didn't quite understand the reasoning behind this, "but I don't believe this is in your nature."

"Erm…" Sena pressed his lips together uncertainly.

"…I apologise, if my earlier words made you uncomfortable. I would not be offended if you left," Shin finally said, he frowned to himself but he seemed to be happy with that because he started exercising again.

Sena stared at him again.

"I-I'm not… I- I don't…" Sena struggled with what he was trying to say and he felt Shin's curious gaze on him as he looked to the side so he could think. "I don't want to leave," he eventually admitted, peeking at the older boy out of the corner of his eyes.

"I see." Shine repeated.

The clanking of weights once again filled the silence between them and Sena fidgeted as he worked up the courage to say what he wanted, "…I…" Sena looked away again as Shin glanced towards him, "…I like it too. The smell, I mean…. Your smell, I guess." The blood beneath Sena's cheeks must have been boiling to make them so hot and the running back dropped his gaze to his nervously wringing hands in the hope that his fringe would hide this blush from his rival.

"…That is good."

The sound of weights continued and Sena found himself smiling secretly behind his hair. Something had happened, he wasn't sure what but it seemed good to him and Sena wondered if he'd been waiting for it since he'd decided to stay. "I think… I think I'll go to bed now," Sena decided, slowly picking himself off the floor, "goodnight Shin-san," he said as he turned to leave.

"Sena." Sena froze mid-spin and a shiver went down his spine at the intimate address. "My name's Seijuro."

Sena turned back slowly, swallowing as Shin stopped moving (again, how many times had it been now?) "…G-goodnight, S-seijuro-kun," he murmured.

He watched the older boy step off his chair and walk closer with a strange knot in his stomach. It wasn't fear, or nervousness, it was like… anticipation; it almost felt like those few minutes just before a game as you waited for your name to be called.

Shin stopped in front of the running back, less than a foot away, his chest bare and eye-level. "I believe the custom is that I should ask you to go out with me," his deep voice rumbled down Sena's spine like an earthquake tremor and Sena's eyes flickered upwards to catch his gaze. "And if you agree I should kiss you."

There was a moment of silence where Sena tried to remember how his vocal cords worked before he could stammer out a reply, "A-Are you going to ask?"

"Do I need to?" Shin cocked his head to the side in a manner Sena found really not adorable and the running back had to bite on his lip to keep back a smile.

"If you don't ask, how can I say yes?" he asked and he felt his heart beat a little faster in his chest.

"Will you go out with me, Sena?"

"Yes," His head instinctively tilted up as Shin leaned forwards to press their mouths together. It was little too hard and a little too rough but then, when had Shin been anything else?

Really the kiss was fleeting, less than a minute, but when they pulled away and Sena panted softly only inches from Shin's mouth he felt hours could have passed and he wouldn't have noticed. He pulled the boy back down again, his slim arms wrapping around Shin's broad shoulders as he brushed their lips together and sucked gently on a full lower lip. He felt Shin's hands pull him closer (though he couldn't have told you when they'd gotten round his waist) and the linebacker latched onto his upper lip with the same serious attitude he took to everything.

As they broke away again Shin frowned, "I feel I shall get nothing of my training done if you stay here now." He commented unhappily and Sena watched with a strange contentment as Shin warred with his problem in his head. He had always been a little nervous when Shin was around, but now… Sena wondered if the nervousness hadn't been something else entirely the whole time.

"How about I leave now and we run together tomorrow morning?" He proposed, unwinding his arms and letting his hands slid down Shin's bare biceps encouragingly.

The furrow in his captor's brow deepened further but slowly he released Sena from his unbreakable grip, "I would like that."

Sena smiled shyly as he stepped away, his body protesting at being detached from such a nice source of warmth as it tried to re-adjust to the cold room. He played absently with the end of Shin's hoody before realising that he had come down here to return it. If he returned wearing it… well he really didn't want to know. He stripped it off swiftly before holding it out to a surprised Shin.

"Bring it for me tomorrow?" Sena suggested.

Shin took his jumper back slowly, nodded and then pulled it over his head. Sena blinked in surprise and then blushed.

"I will see you tomorrow morning at six." Shin stated surely and Sena's tired mind winced.

"Could we make it seven?" he asked with an apologetic smile.

Shin blinked but was quick to agree, "If that is better for you."

"Thank you." Sena rubbed his foot against the carpet tiles beneath him, "erm…" he stepped forward and quickly raised himself up onto his tiptoes so he could press his lips to Shin's cheek before pulling back, "goodnight Sh- Seijuro-kun."

"Goodnight Sena," Shin pressed a hand to the side of his face unsurely but his mouth quirked upwards anyway and Sena found the gesture made something warm coil in his stomach.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Sena promised as he grinned in return, shuffling backwards until his back hit the door.

"Tomorrow," Shin bowed politely and Sena returned it with an amused smile even as he pushed the door open.

"Night!"

"Goodnight."

Sena bit his lip as the clear door closed behind him his eyes catching Shin's as he watched him leave. Sena smiled shyly before finally forcing himself to walk away. As Sena left the gym behind him (and the steady clank started up again) he was helpless against the grin spreading across his face, even when he heard the sounds of Chuubou, Kurita and Komisuba finally coming up from the dining room.

"Sena-sempai! We won!" Chuubou proclaimed as soon as he sighted him.

Sena let his grin stretch further, grateful for the excuse for wearing it, "that's great!" he replied with perhaps more enthusiasm than he felt. He allowed Chuubou to inform him off everything he'd missed as he was swept back into the common room by the excitable middle-school student.

"Are you staying down here, Sena-sempai?" Chuubou asked with wide eyes.

"Ah, no. I uh- I have training tomorrow morning; I need to be up early." Sena felt that ever persistent blush start up again as he thought of just who he would be training with tomorrow and, from the corner of his eye, he watched helplessly as Yamato noticed. "Right, so I'm going to bed, right now. Yep. I'll see you in the morning ok?" He continued quickly, his blush only increasing under scrutiny.

"Ah, yeah of course," Chuubou replied, "uh…Sena-sempai, are you ok?"

"Yep, fine, fine, I'll see you tomorrow yeah?"

"Yeah..." Chuubou didn't look too convinced and two gazes followed Sena upstairs; one extremely amused, the other extremely confused. Neither helped Sena's blush any, but as the running back slipped into the safety of his and Monta's room his blazing cheeks didn't matter. He could still smell Shin on his clothes, on his skin, and as he crawled into his bed, he took off nothing so that he could sink into the familiar fragrance as he fell asleep.

Really, Sena thought as he slipped into unconsciousness, he should sell it to scent-manufacturers as a cure for insomnia; he'd make millions.

…

**Omake**

Sakuraba: Is it just me or is Shin smiling?

Takami: What are you talking about? (turning around) Shin never…

Sakuraba: He is, isn't he, he's smiling!

Takami: I'm sure there is a perfectly rational explanation for this.

Sakuraba: I bet I know why (grins in a satisfied manner)

Takami: (narrows eyes) what have you been up to?

Sakuraba: Nothing!

Takami: …

Sakuraba: Well I might have supplied him with some shoujo-manga, but only a few I swear!

Takami: You gave him… shoujo-manga…

Sakuraba: Just a few, to, you know, point him the right direction. He's got plenty of girls who like him but he's never had a girlfriend. I thought, you know, it would help him understand the 'feminine psyche' or…or something.

Takami: (smirks) sorry to burst your bubble Sakuraba, but it's not girls Shin's interested in. Though I think you'll find you've just explained why Sena was blushing so much when he came back earlier.

* * *

Yes, Takami appeared right at the end specifically for the omake. He's a little miffed that even Ishimaru made it onto paper before he did but perhaps you could cheer him up with a review or two praising his efforts XD

Mistake of the week: 'as he crawled onto his futon'- they don't have futons dear, they're in America…

Do you remember Sena was suspicious of the jumper Shin gave him at the end of chapter four? Cookies for the people who can work out what was wrong with it XD

Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed the caper of Shin and Sena's relationship as much as I have! It's been very good for entertaining me through boring lessons at any rate XD Remember the moral of this story; forgetting to take an umbrella could lead to a gorgeous and adorable (if somewhat dense) boyfriend coming your way. Of course you're more likely to just get wet but it's the thought that counts.

Bye for now!

Makayla


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